They had to think about it over the weekend, but by Monday, it was clear there was no bandwagon forming behind Trump’s desire to “terminate” the Constitution, so they swallowed hard and … well, let’s see what they said here.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV): “I think it’s ridiculous talk. To besmirch our dedication to the Constitution is ridiculous.” (That sounds more like a retort to critics of GOP silence on the matter than a condemnation of Trump’s remark.)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “The statement was inappropriate and I’m glad to see him clarify. Most Republicans are frustrated, but that wasn’t the answer.” (Trump “clarified” the remark on Monday by claiming he didn’t say it, and accusing the media of lying about it, see story here.)
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): The Constitution “is enduring and it will be for millennia to come.” (Let’s hold him to it.)
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY): What remark? (I guess they don’t have TV, radio, newspapers, satellites, mail, or internet in Wyoming.)
Mike Pence: “We will support and defend the Constitution.” (You’ve got work to do, pal, starting with the 8 GOP senators and 139 GOP House members who voted against certifying the 2020 election.)
Sen. John Thune (R-SD): “Of course I disagree with that. I swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, and it is a bedrock principle — it is the principle, the bedrock of our country. So I couldn’t disagree more.”
The Hill reports (here) that Thune added he’s “mystified why Trump would make such an outlandish statement in response to a report about Twitter employees’ discussions about how to handle media coverage of emails recovered from Hunter Biden’s stolen laptop.” (Yeah, me too, in my post here.)
Finally, Thune said, “I don’t understand what the theory might [be] behind this particular campaign strategy, but he’s going to say what he’s going to say. I don’t think anybody’s going to control that, but I do think if you’re one of the other candidates, this is a golden opportunity.” It’s tempting to interpret this as an early, small, crack in the solid wall of GOP professional politicians circling the wagons to defend Trump; he’s actually saying maybe somebody else should be their 2024 nominee.
CNN says (here) they’d rather ignore yet another Trump controversy, “most were quiet until pressed by reporters for comment after returning to the Capitol on Monday,” and “even among those speaking out, few have said it should disqualify Trump from running again for the White House.”
If you ask me, these cowards are as scared of Trump’s supporters as ever, and the noise from the chicken coop hasn’t fundamentally changed; it’s still chickens clucking.